Former Oxfordshire Employee Struck Off

Lying social worker is struck off register

A SOCIAL worker has been struck off for deliberately lying about previous proceedings against her to Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. 

Clare Linda Bowthorpe-Weller was struck off the health care and professions council (HCPC) register following a hearing held on Wednesday and Thursday last week. 

An HCPC conduct and competence committee panel heard she had previously been subject to HCPC fitness to practice hearings in March 2013 but lied about it to her future employer.

At a previous hearing in February 2014, Ms Bowthorpe-Weller – a former Oxfordshire County Council employee – was found to have not ensured care programme reviews were kept up to date for 15 people on her computer. 

The panel also found she did not ensure risk assessments for those 15 people were kept up to date, did not regularly contact, or attempt to contact, people on 71 occasions and did not maintain regular contact with them.  

It was also found that when she was asked to help a distressed person, she lied and told her manager the person had left by the time she arrived. She was initially suspended for 12 months and this was then replaced by a nine-month order imposing conditions, due to expire in November 2014. 

The panel heard that on May 29, 2014 – while still subject to the conditions – she went for an interview with Oxford Health and told the interviewer that the HCPC had conducted a review of her suspension order as fraudulent evidence was produced at the final hearing. 

Panel chairman Lubna Shuja said: “Deliberately lying to a potential employer about regulatory proceedings falls significantly below the standard expected.”